Why should gun nuts prevail?

I am outraged at the hubris of Congress to vote in favor of the out-of-touch NRA over the wishes of the vast majority of the public who elected them ("Tyranny of the minority," April 19).

We are the only civilized country on this planet that allows unrestricted access to military-style weapons that were specifically designed to kill as many people as possible as fast as possible. And it shows: In Europe, the rate of mass shootings is a fraction of what it is in the U.S., even controlling for differences in the population size.

Why are we not ashamed that government conspiracy nut cases run the weapons policy agenda in this country?

Does it make sense that I can't bring an extra bottle of nail polish on a plane, but any convicted criminal or mentally ill person can purchase a weapon and outrageous amounts of ammunition with no background checks? When the Second Amendment was written, semi-automatic weapons did not exist. I don't think the Framers could have imagined the heinous slaughter that result from access to modern weaponry designed for war.

If my elected officials can't vote for what I want, then it's time to fire them.